Last night I tackled the porch area of our new home and I continued this morning, with the help of two lovely children. The porch had a few a lot of boxes {about 6} filled with stuff. CD’s, DVD’s, stationary, wires, bathroom crud we’ve been given over the years, paperwork from previous employment, old notebooks and diaries. And as I looked at the things, some of which was previously important, honestly I just wanted to be rid of it all. Moving has made me realize just how much stuff we collect. Similarly, it has really made me ferociously determined to minimize, reduce and refuse the clutter. I’ve been happier in my home without all the boxes unpacked, which makes me see we really don’t need all we have. Specifically, I’ve noticed:
- My emotional health is better when my home is clean, organized and the clutter is not present
- My children are more organized and put things away in the right place when there is less stuff around and therefore less distraction
- Our mornings, perhaps the most stressful time for working families, are much smoother when everything is easy to find and ready and waiting
- We have more time because the day to day tidying and cleaning is significantly reduced.
I feel like with the Month of Nothing this month, I really don’t want to over commit as my focus is on both going without any excess and spending time teaching and engaging my children in activities about giving, so while I’m going to get a significant amount of the moving boxes finished, and from that I will most certainly have things to give away and dump, I am not going to add another challenge. But I’m already thinking for February I’m going to have some sort of organizing and cleaning focus, as well as a goal to get rid of a certain amount of things each day or week {I’ve currently got 3 bags to donate just from last night and this mornings adventure!}. Funny, even writing about getting everything cleaned out and stuff finding a new home makes me a bit giddy! I’m a bit of a closeted minimalist I think! 
The one thing I loved when I moved frequently was the purging that comes with the move. It caused me to touch every single item in the home and make a decision about it. It sounds like you are settling into your new home quite nicely.
Thanks. We are, I realized that today. It is home {even if I occasionally miss the UK}.
For the most part, I agree, and tend toward minimalism myself. But, occasionally a treasure from long ago crops up simply because my mother kept things. What I found recently was a letter dated 1936, written by my great-grandmother to her son. There was nothing special about the letter, but letters were kept then, and I’ve loved having it in my hands now.
Now that is definitely a good exception!! What a lovely find!
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When we moved in with my inlaws in June we purged a ton of stuff. And half our stuff is in storage now, and we are living pretty well without it. Granted, we do have my inlaws stuff to use. Still, I think when we finally move into our new home we will have a lot to purge – from the packing box directly to the donation box!
I can totally relate!!!
Oh dear, I guess that means you don’t want the pot holder weaving kit I set aside to send with the clothes
lol that in fact would help my daughter’s fine motor skills {a really really big struggle for her}. I’m sorry I’ve been negligent in emailing, very tough day here. Will do, soon as I can muster it.
I suspect you might also feel like you have to write something of substance, but that is not at all the case. I’m trying to lighten your load, not add to it
so just send me a clothing size and a location. Short and sweet!
I will definitely join you in a February declutter challenge! We have been working on it slowly here for the past two months, but I am eager to step up the pace in the new year. I am not a minimalist at all by temperament, but everything is certainly easier when there is less “stuff” to deal with. Even our calling it “stuff” shows its lack of value to us, so why do we hang on to it?
I am slowly reducing clutter in our home (sometimes hampered by having things being important to my husband). I instigated a one-in-one-out rule for my books 2 years ago and last year expanded it to two out if I buy myself a new book, one out if the book is a gift or bought second-hand. I am also going through my DVDs, watching them and asking myself the question “would I be bothered if I never saw this again?” if the answer is no, then it goes to charity. I intend to listen to my CDs and make a similar decision. Like you, my emotional/mental health benefits from a less cluttered home. If you make a challenge for February, I look forward to seeing what you do.